Tamper evident closures are not new per se. In almost in any product which is intended to be consumed or otherwise be in contact with humans, either internally or externally, there is a desire to package the product so that there is visual evidence of the product having been opened. This will alert the user to the possibility of tampering and or opportunities for spoilage.
Plastic shrink wrapping of the closure on the cap has not met with any significant success in the consumer market because of the difficulty in removing the seal as well as the need for removing bits and pieces of shrink wrap plastic on the container. More often than not, the consumer feels that this is an unattractive way of displaying goods and the consumer selects another product using other packaging.
One particular class of goods which is particularly susceptible to tampering and/or spoiling when a seal is not complete is the class of containers in which a cap is attached to a nozzle by threads. The age-old battle between those who replace the toothpaste cap and those who do not is not only a humorous distinction between individual preferences. Increased concern for safety and for sanitation has caused serious attention to be given to effectively closed caps.
One method for maintaining tamper evident features is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,848,615. In this patent, a fracture tear band is provided which can be removed once and which then identifies that the contents have been exposed. This method, however, does away with a screw cap closure design and relies upon a cap which can be pried upwardly. While this design is highly effective in providing the tamper evident feature, it does not maintain the appearance of the container. In addition, there is no separate functional component or components which serve to protect the integrity of the seal, particularly when the container is to be used over a significant period of time.
Toothpaste tubes and other similar products have a cap which is removed once or more every day over a relatively long period of time. It is desirable that the freshness of the contents be maintained and that a seal be effective every time the cap is replaced on the tube. Some ordinary cap and tube assemblies facilitate the frequent removal and return of the cap on the tube but these designs do not provide any clear evidence that a seal has been effective once the cap has been replaced.
In addition, sanitary practices indicate that material which has been withdrawn from a tube has a much greater chance of contaminating the remaining contents. No prior art design addresses this problem.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new improved container assembly for cap and tube devices. It is another object of the present invention to provide a cap and tube device which explicitly identifies the arrival of the cap at a sealed condition.
Other objects will appear hereinafter.